Sharp-tailed Grouse Dance

Each year our local naturalist society makes the hour-long drive to the Canadian Forces Base at Wainwright, Alberta to see the annual Sharp-tailed Grouse dance at their lek. The field trip is arranged by the Wainwright Naturalist Society, and they also maintain the several blinds where we sit and observe. This part of the province has the highest counts and density of breeding Sharp-tailed Grouse.

I’m signed up and will be leaving for the base at 4 am Friday morning if the weather permits. If so, it’ll be the fourth consecutive year I’ve watch the Sharp-tailed Grouse dance. After we watch the birds as the sun rises, we drive back to the base where we have an amazing pancake breakfast in the mess hall. The day is one of the highlights of our naturalist society activities and of my birding year.

I will have a full post on my trip to see the grouse about a day or so later, because when I get home around 10 am I’m always pretty tired!

Here is a photo of a Sharp-tailed Grouse I took last year. I hope to take better photos this year with a better camera,